The Indiana State sentinel., 1887-04-13
GATHERING THEN IN.
Rapid Work In Arresti the Thieves
Efforts to Conceal Their Tracks.

PITTsBURG, April 1.-THE thieves who
were not arrested at their homes were
taken from their trains. To do this it was
necessary TO display the red light at the
Second-avenue crossing and side track the
trains as they came in. This was so
quickly executed that when the thieving
crew mustered on to the little platform to
ask what the red light meant they could
see glistening on the wrists of each other the
fearful implements Of Justice by which the
officers gathered them together. Conductor
and brakemen looked aghast at each
other as the guilty knowledge OF their
crimes came before them. Train after
train was side-tracked until the alleged
thieves were pulled and the caboose cars
containing many evidences OF their long
continued depredations were cut loose and
searched. The combination to rob a freight
train Decessitated the guilty knowledge snd
actual participation OF the conductor, the
middle brakeman, one or more, and the
rear brakeman or fiagman. 1t did not, of
the necessity, take in the front
brakeman or hagman, nor the en-
gineer or fireman, but the others
had 10 be in to make it work, and it
did work. 1t was not required that they
should wreck trains to rob. They were
finer fingered operators than that. They
were no mere gatherers-up of scattered
goods, like the mob who carried off the
hams at the riots; not they. Every ex-
cuse which they knew could not we'll be
denied was given for broken cars when
they neglected, which they free cuently did,
to seal or lock them up again. The Gov
eminent bonded cars were broken perhaps
oftener than the ordinary Union Line or
common freight cars. In these they always
knew they could get choice goods. Silks,
cigars. rifles, all kinds of imported fire.
arms and caddies of tobacco seemed to be
some of their necessities. Boxes of
shoes and general run of mer-
chandise for their every day use
were fOund openly in the caboose cars
OF each train. Hundreds of boxes which
had contained the finest of imported
cigars were found on these trains, boldly
used by the men to hold their caps and
overalls and lanterns and waste stuff. So
bold had they become that the United
States regulations, sIrict as they are, had
lost all terror for them. Whilst the
custom-house officers were trying to trace
the goods, and the merchants here
and elsewhere were corresponding
with the shippers, and the special
agents at special pay were wonder
ing how this could possibly be, and
loading down the letter books with
theories which flew around as indefnite
as smoke, the operators smoked their
Havanas within the very shadow of the
court or custom-house and laughed at
their masters who suffered the loss.
Fires were in progress to-day all along the
line of the Panhandle road, made up of
stuff nd out of the caboose cars, that the
evidence of things not seen may be want
ing when the trial comes. Word was tele-
graphed along the road for the particulars
Of each case. Freight trains have hauled
up at water stations and delay made till
the caboose was swept and garnished. and
in doing so evidence has been procured
against unsuspected railroad men which il
will be hard to 0verturn. Almost every
man arrested had from one to ten pawn
tickets for all sorts of articles on bis per-
son. 1t is alleged that every pawn shop in
IN the two cities is represented on the
tickets. An amount of several thousand
dollars is said to be recoverable in this way
alone.
About the Panhandle yards to-day
there was a scene of quietness than indl-
Gated that something unusual had hap
pened where there Is usually a scene of noisy
hustle. The crews OF men that had been
arrested had left large number of trains
deserted. There were twenty-four OF these
trains piled closely together on the side
tracks in the yards. The detention of
freight, however, was only temporary. The
railroad officers had taken special precau-
tion to continue moving their freight
promptly. An extra force OF sixty men
had been employed. These were put on
the deserted trains in place OF the arrested
employees. When it became generally
known that large number of men had
been arrested, applicants for positions